Sunday, May 7, 2017

Man oh man, the kids sure do love those viral YouTube videos, so it’s really exciting to know that our own Reston, Va. is now “on the map” with a viral vid that’s setting social media en fuego!

Unfortunately, this particular video doesn’t involve cute animals, or regrettable groin-related injuries, or even an obese adolescent playing with a lightsaber. Instead, it’s a first-person account of some causal bigotry at the Reston Trader Joe’s:

Here's the alleged account, as shared on Facebook and other social media:

My wife was in line at Trader Joe's in Reston earlier today. The store was packed with every lane full. She offered this lady to jump ahead in line since she only had to buy one item and didn't want to stand in the long lines. She had voiced her annoyance with Trader Joe's for not having an express lane so my wife, the kind person that she is, let her cut in front of her.

Then it started. She pointed to the other side of the store and asked my wife if she saw "that woman". My wife didn't know who she was referring to so she asked "who?". It was a lady in a hijab and a nikab (face covered). So the woman then says, "she's Muslim" and rolled her eyes. When my wife said "so?" obviously not sharing in her disgust, she laughed and said "oh wait, you must be Muslim too?”

She went on to ask why my wife didn't cover like the "other woman." When my wife tried to explain to her that it was a choice, etc. she laughed and made more crude racist, xenophobic remarks about Muslims. To be honest, my wife said she wasn't prepared and didn't know how to respond back in the moment. My wife started recording a little late but apparently this lady’s rant lasted at least 3-4 minutes.

This video pretty much hits a 2017 fever dream hat trick. Shock at a Muslim born in the United States? Check. Obama a secret Muslim and about to go to jail for presumably secret Muslim crimes? Check and check. A confidence that if not America, the Reston Trader Joe’s will soon be Great Again? Check.

Like many viral videos ultimately proved to be staged, it’s all so ridiculous that you’d think it was an elaborately acted out hoax. We’re pretty sure it’s not.

We’re also not sure exactly what identifying the person in the video will do to help anyone, as anything anyone does to hold her accountable, if not illegal and/or immoral, will just fit neatly into her worldview — that the PC world is out to Destroy America and will ruin anyone brave enough to try to make America Great Again. It's helpful, though, to be reminded of where we are in 2017, even in a place like Reston -- and at a Trader Joe's in Reston, which you would think would be home to the crunchiest of the crunchy folks who call our earth-toned Nirvana home.

27 comments:

Advice to anyone who sees this racist bullshit: if you agree with the attacker, you're as big an a-hole as he/she is. If you don't agree, don't just stand there! Just standing next to the person under attack can make a difference since racists are cowards. I don't understand why the people in front of your wife didn't offer her their place in line. I have a friend who say something similar, and when she approached the woman under attack (why does it seem most victims are women?) and began to talk to her, the guy walked away. They know that a physical attack will get them arrested, most won't risk it in these situations.

Bigots like this are bullies pure and simple and the silence of the rest of the customers only emboldens her. She made a very public attack and thus forfeits her right to privacy - imho, she needs to be very publicly shamed and perhaps be taught a lesson by her community, pastor, boss and so on.

But what did she say to this woman - or this country - to get the response she filmed? Remember the white woman set what set you off? So clearly the muslim woman had said something off camera .. that is a key part of this video conveniently left out. So I believe this white woman has a valid case of slander/defamation.

Learn to read, genius. It tells you: SHE DID NOT START THE VIDEO UNTIL the woman made it clear she was not going to drop it. Why DO YOU WALK AROUND WITH YOUR PHONE CONSTANTLY VIDEOTAPING EVERYTHING? What are you, a late-blooming child who thinks he is going to get back at the world by picking losing fights too?

This is an awfully breezy tone for something so hateful, racist (which doesn't appear anywhere in your blog post), and islamaphobic. I've lived in Reston for years and this isn't an isolated incident. Perhaps something a little more insightful is warranted?

I grew up in Loudoun and work in Reston. I can fully believe this causal racist encounter. I have 33-years of experience with causal racists who play dumb when confronted with their own ignorance. NoVa isn't exempt from anything. This area use to be very, very rural and a lot of those small-minded idiots still live here.

I am embarrassed by the responses of seemingly intelligent individuals. Racism should not be tolerated but snarky insults about people who espouse racist views - don't help either. I am one of the "rural" locals that you are referring to and take a bit of offense to the "small-minded idiots" comment. The small-minded idiots are the ones that have taken care of this community - long before many of the people who moved here arrived - and it's the locals that made the area the "place where everyone now wants to live." Please be respectful when commenting, to all people, it's the only way to achieve peace. Lastly, stop hating on locals - they are allowed to be bothered by things, especially when people move into their neighborhoods and change them for the worse. Traffic has increased because of everyone moving here - it's not a racial thing, it's a frustration thing and people think they are safe to share their ideas. You don't have to agree with them, in fact you can hate them if you like, but you must remain peaceful or we all lose.

It's also an extremely safe assumption that the only reason the ignorant woman being filmed thought the one filming was Muslim (and should not have been "let in" to the US) is because she was not white. But I will admit, I was not there.

No, that is what a caller alleging to be the white woman claims. There is no proof of that claim so far. I wonder who else witnessed this event to corroborate one side or the other. Although based in the white lady's comments about Obama and jail, she seems pretty off to me.